wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 6344 > Original Bill
There is established an office of fraud and accountability within the department for the purpose of detection, investigation, and prosecution of any act prohibited or declared to be unlawful in the programs administered by the department. The secretary must employ qualified supervisory, legal, and investigative personnel for the program. Program staff must be qualified by training and experience.
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The director of the office of fraud and accountability is the head of the office and is selected by the secretary and must demonstrate suitable capacity and experience in law enforcement management, public administration, and criminal investigations. The director of the office of fraud and accountability shall:
Report directly to the secretary; and
Ensure that each citizen complaint, employee complaint, law enforcement complaint, and agency referral is assessed and, when risk of fraud or abuse is present, is fully investigated, and is referred for prosecution or recovery when there is evidence of wrongdoing.
The director of the office of fraud and accountability shall establish a 24-hour citizen's hotline capable of receiving both telephone calls and text messages for complaints.
The office of fraud and accountability shall:
Conduct independent and objective investigations into allegations of fraud and abuse, make appropriate referral to law enforcement when there is evidence of criminal activity, and recover overpayment whenever possible and to the greatest possible degree;
Recommend policies, procedures, and best practices designed to detect and prevent fraud and abuse, mitigate the risk for fraud and abuse, and ensure that department programs are being used for their statutorily stated goals;
Analyze cost-effective, best practice alternatives to any current cash benefit delivery systems consistent with federal law to ensure that benefits are being used for their intended purposes; and
Use best practices to determine appropriate utilization and deployment of investigative resources, ensure that resources are deployed in a balanced and effective manner, and use all available methods to gather evidence necessary for proper investigation and successful prosecution.
By December 31, 2027, the office of fraud and accountability shall report to the legislature on the development of the office, identification of any barriers to meeting the stated goals of the office, and recommendations for improvements to the system and laws related to the prevention, detection, and prosecution of fraud and abuse in department programs.
In carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the office of fraud and accountability established in section 1 of this act shall have prompt access to all individuals, records, electronic data, reports, audits, reviews, documents, and other materials available to the department of revenue, department of labor and industries, department of social and health services, employment security department, department of licensing, and any other government entity that can be used to help facilitate investigations of fraud or abuse as determined necessary by the director of the office of fraud and accountability.
The investigator shall have access to all original child care records maintained by licensed and unlicensed child care providers with the consent of the provider or with a court order or valid search warrant.
Information gathered by the department or the office of fraud and accountability must be safeguarded and remain confidential as required by applicable state or federal law. Whenever information or assistance requested under subsection (1) or (2) of this section is, in the judgment of the director, unreasonably refused or not provided, the director of the office of fraud and accountability shall report the circumstances to the secretary immediately.
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Information gathered by the department, the office, or the fraud ombuds shall be safeguarded and remain confidential as required by applicable state or federal law. Whenever information or assistance requested under subsection (1) of this section is, in the judgment of the director, unreasonably refused or not provided, the director of the office of fraud and accountability must report the circumstances to the secretary immediately.